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A diet doesnt need to be 100 percent healthy to be healthy, according to Work Week Lunch founder Talia Koren. The blogger lost 10 pounds following the 80/20 rule, which involves focusing on eating healthy foods 80 percent of the time, and less healthy foods the remaining 20 percent.

I wasnt restraining myself and I think thats the key to what makes it work, Koren tells NBC News Better. You can have what you want, but you have to have more of the healthy stuff."

The 25-year-old says she put on a few extra pounds in college. Her eating habits worsened after she started working for a busy New York City media company, where pizza days and free bagels were the norm. Shedding the weight seemed impossible.

When youre not eating well, your energy levels are affected, and thats what I found, Koren said. I was really sluggish. I didnt like the way my clothes fit. I just didnt feel good about myself.

Koren tried numerous diet fads, none of which seemed to help her lose weight. Exercise didnt seem to help either. In 2015, while researching online, she learned about the 80/20 rule and decided to try it.

Koren approached the 80/20 rule using what she calls the week-long approach. She eats about 21 meals in a week, 80 percent of which make up about 17 meals. She prefers this to the day-long approach, which means 80 percent of her daily meals are healthy.

If 20 percent [of what you eat] is sweet potato fries every day, thats going to add up, she explains.

The week-long approach, however, forces her to have more self-restraint. While about 17 of her meals are healthy during the week, just four are less healthy.

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Koren began cooking her meals at home. Her healthy meals consist of whole grains, lean proteins, fruits and vegetables and nutrient dense carbs.

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She decided to reserve her less healthy meals for when she eats out with friends. But shes careful not to pick menu items that are too unhealthy.

I love Mediterranean food, she says. So I would get falafel, which is fried, and maybe some cole slaw there would be mayo in there that type of thing, where its not totally unhealthy but not super strict either.

You should never use your 20 percent less healthy meal allowance as an excuse to binge eat, she warns.

That doesnt mean youre going to an extreme opposite like youre just going to eat pizza 20 percent of the time, she says. It just means caring a little less.

Whats Korens secret to keeping her healthy lifestyle consistent? She prepares her meals in advance.

Meal prepping is a huge, huge reason why I was able to stay so consistent, because no matter what diet or plan youre on, you need to prepare, she says.

The blogger meal preps twice a week. On Sunday shell prepare her meals for Monday through Wednesday, and on Wednesday shell prepare her meals for Thursday through Sunday. For example, shell cook broccoli, sweet potatoes, and salmon, and divide them into three portions for her lunch for the next three days. She says these prepared dishes prevent her from making unhealthy excuses.

You want to beat your brain to the punch and just have the healthy meal in front of you, so you dont even have to think about a decision its just there, says Koren.

After six months of following the 80/20 rule, Koren went from about 130 to 120 pounds.

This is what I would call my happy weight, she says. Im not trying to lose more, I dont want to gain more either.

The blogger says losing the weight felt awesome, but notes it was a result of focusing on healthy lifestyle changes, not an obsession with slimming down.

I was focusing on the process on the cooking process and all of a sudden I realized my clothes started fitting better, my energy levels were very balanced throughout the day, she says.

It just made life a lot easier, Koren concluded.

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How the 80/20 Rule Helped This Woman Lose Weight - NBCNews.com

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Home » Lose Weight » How the 80/20 Rule Helped This Woman Lose Weight – NBCNews.com